APT target/blanket design and thermal hydraulics

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The Accelerator Production of Tritium (APT) Target/Blanket (T/B) system is comprised of an assembly of tritium producing modules supported by control, heat removal, shielding and retargeting systems. The T/B assembly produces tritium using a high-energy proton beam, a tungsten/lead spallation neutron source and {sup 3}He gas as the tritium producing feedstock. For the nominal production mode, protons are accelerated to an energy of 1030 MeV at a current of 100 mA and are directed onto the T/B assembly. The protons are expanded using a raster/expansion system to illuminate a 0.19m by 1.9m beam spot on the front face of a ...
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Description

The Accelerator Production of Tritium (APT) Target/Blanket (T/B) system is comprised of an assembly of tritium producing modules supported by control, heat removal, shielding and retargeting systems. The T/B assembly produces tritium using a high-energy proton beam, a tungsten/lead spallation neutron source and {sup 3}He gas as the tritium producing feedstock. For the nominal production mode, protons are accelerated to an energy of 1030 MeV at a current of 100 mA and are directed onto the T/B assembly. The protons are expanded using a raster/expansion system to illuminate a 0.19m by 1.9m beam spot on the front face of a centrally located tungsten neutron source. A surrounding lead blanket produces additional neutrons from scattered high-energy particles. The tungsten neutron source consists of nested, Inconel-718 clad tungsten cylinders assembled in horizontal Inconel-718 tubes. Each tube contains up to 6 cylinders with annular flow channel gaps of 0.102 cm. These horizontal tubes are manifolded into larger diameter vertical inlet and outlet pipes, which provide coolant. The horizontal and vertical tubes make up a structure similar to that of rungs on a ladder. The entire tungsten neutron source consists of 11 such ladders separated into two modules, one containing five ladders and the other six. Ladders are separated by a 0.3 m void region to increase nucleon leakage. The peak thermal-hydraulic conditions in the tungsten neutron source occur in the second ladder from the front. Because tungsten neutron source design has a significant number of parallel flow channels, the limiting thermal-hydraulic parameter is the onset of significant void (OSV) rather than critical heat flux (CHF). A blanket region surrounds the tungsten neutron source. The lateral blanket region is approximately 120 cm thick and 400 cm high. Blanket material consists of lead, {sup 3}He gas, aluminum, and light-water coolant. The blanket region is subdivided into rows based on the local power density in the lead. The rows immediately surrounding the tungsten neutron source receive the highest particle fluxes, and therefore experience the highest power densities. Moving outward from the tungsten neutron source, the lead power density drops steeply. To accommodate this variation, the amount of lead and coolant is tailored to the power density to maximize tritium production.

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